BlackBerry Z3 touches down in the Philippines

0.phoneArena
18 Jul 2014, 03:07posted on

The BlackBerry Z3 continues its travels around the emerging markets, as the phone is available starting today in the Philippines. Authorized retailers are selling the device, the first to tumble down the assembly lines at Foxconn as part of a 5 year pact with BlackBerry. The contract manufacturer designs the phone, builds and stores it, and BlackBerry contributes the OS and marketing. Both split the profit...

As I've said before, the calculated deployment of the BlackBerry Z3 is going very well for BlackBerry. They need to churn out more low cost BB10 handsets in emerging markets to help shore up market share where they still have strong presence. Good job, BlackBerry!

i'm from the philippines and i tell you, it CANNOT BE DONE here. not when asus recently announced the zenfone 5 here for $150 and local quadcore 720p phones costing $115. and we aren't even as large a market as india is.

Your Z3 number is wrong. The first 2 weeks number and the next 2 weeks IS NOT the same. BB might be able to sell 30K Z3 in 2 weeks, but the next 2 weeks BB might just sell 100 pieces.... That's the way market work.

BlackBerry mistakenly thinks that people will gonna buy BlackBerry phones just because of brand name as it was long time ago. Back in days BlackBerry was a "status" symbol the same stupid trend as it happens with Apple products. But looks like BlackBerry still can't realize that those days are past. Normal users moved to Android and Windows Phone camps, "status" symbol trend followers moved to Apple camp.

And without looking at any fake statistics, there is the simplest way to prove that BlackBerry is not popular and that there is no big interest in new BlackBerry Passport phone is to go through many different tech sites and look how much comments has articles about BlackBerry and how much comments has articles about other manufacturers. After that it should be clear that BlackBerry is no more popular and that there is no big interest in new BlackBerry Passport phone.

"BlackBerry’s square-screened phone to free us from our ‘rectangular world,’” went the headline of Andrew Cunningham’s piece in Ars Technica, one of many pieces that propelled the Passport near the top of industry news aggregator, TechMeme

The Passport’s boundary-breaking design and oversized 1,440×1,440 screen resonated with many writers. “One of the obvious reasons for BlackBerry Passport’s square form factor is the need for innovation,” wrote Softpedia’s Cosmin Vasile. “In a market where design matters a lot, BlackBerry found out that there weren’t too many square handsets available and has decided to go for it.”

TechCrunch’s Darrell Etheringon agreed. “BlackBerry is at least taking a different approach to the smartphone/tablet/whatever-mobile-computer, the design of all which has been largely normalized over the past few years.”

So did Jon Fingas of influential gadget blog, Engadget. “They’re interesting ideas, and the unusual form factor might just work for BlackBerry’s suit-and-tie audience.

Even BGR’s Brad Reed was moved to write that “the BlackBerry Passport wasn’t designed for iS***p and Fandroids who want to play Candy Crush all day — it’s for people who want to do real work, and that means having a physical keyboard that can fire off emails like no other phone.”

Predictably, some publications took a cautious approach to the Passport’s innovations, opting to defend a status quo dominated by an endless conveyor belt of entertainment-driven, homogenous devices.

But when everything tastes like chicken, maybe it’s time for a different flavor.

Clamoring Consumers

Besides the media coverage, the number of reader comments indicated the strong interest. BGR’s post drew 170+ comments; the Ars post drew more than 240 comments, while Engadget’s blog drew nearly 380 comments. Let’s not forget the 120+ comments at our blog as well as the combined 800 comments at CrackBerry!

These comments tended towards the passionate and insightful.

“As a matter of fact the touch-sensitive physical keyboard is certainly far more inventive than anything Apple or the Android camp so far managed to pull up when it comes to text entry,” commented one reader of The Register’s piece."

BlackBerry is already a thing of the past here in the Philippines so I guess this will still be a struggle for them. Local smartphone market is dominated by Samsung, Apple, Sony, Cherry Mobile, MyPhone, and some Chinese brands.

It's the same as in everywhere. BB is already the things in the past because they failed to understand that no one want unstable device that needs the battery being pull out every now and then (the embarrassing moment of any bb user)

Battery pull? What ANCIENT BlackBerry device are you talking about, Wahy? And PLEASE don't act like Androids don't need battery pulls every half-hour, because they do. Laggy and ALWAYS freezing. And PLEASE don't act like iOS doesn't hit you with the "please connect to iTunes" every other day. The lies you propagate are enormous!

It is true, here in the United States, you occasionally see BlackBerry phone, but iPhone and Galaxy Phones are everywhere. But, it is always nice for people to have choices and it is always good for competition and innovation.

Apart from that, if you fall and don't get up you are a loser and BlackBerry is anything but a loser at this time. As you have noticed there are iOS and Android fans out there who have been screaming their hearts out for the last couple of years that BB is dead but look they are still here.

I have had both iPhones and Android devices but now I am using BlackBerry.
Wouldn't you like a little competition and options to choose from?

LOL.
BB still don't understand that it's brand value already tarnished by the BAD-build-quality of BB OS 7, and the BBM-become-not-important. They need to change to android, if they still want to have the FIRST TIER (brand) price.

it's like apple have made an "affordable" device, but still the specs are not justified by the price.. :D with that price, we can buy 18mp snapper and 8mp front cam and battery replaceable. goodluck BB, as Filipinos, always look at the specs of the camera of a device, yep many don't know megapixels doesn't mean good image quality but hey, normal people doesn't know that, all they know is, "THE BIGGER THE NUMBERS, THE BETTER" i wish them a really big LUCK! maybe some hipsters-wanna-be are the one who's gonna buy them, because android and apple are too mainstream. LOL

I don't think any hipsters-wanna-be want this phone either. With this phone, it is guarantee that you will miss any current trend, such as flappy bird & timber man, not to mention, tons of PREMIUM QUALITY apps were not available for BB10.

Is that a fact or an opinion? Stop stereo typing the Filipinos as dumb. Are you one dumb Filipino who buy phone just for the camera Specs.? Clearly the Z3 is not for you as it was not made for selfies. It is mainly for a working stiff like me who value the phone for what it is: A great tool for communication and the most secured OS. If all Filipinos are like you then there is no hope for Blackberry. BTW, I do not consider Pres. Obama as a hipster wanna be because he is using Blackberry.

did I ever said Filipinos are dumb? are you a Filipino too? the one who always misinterprets a statement as an offensive criticism? :D Filipinos are wise enough not to buy that piece of junk because they have better option than blackberry z3, you completely misunderstood me, that's why I also said MAYBE "hippies" are the one who's gonna buy them, just to look different. yes i'm one of Filipino who represent typical Filipinos, and yes, blackberry will gonna have a bad time to sell here in PH, and I don't take selfies, i just love good camera in cellphones because I want an all-rounder cellphone, not this kind of piece of junk overpriced underspeced handset. as I quote " It is mainly for a working stiff like me who value the phone for what it is: A great tool for communication and the most secured OS." average filipino doesn't have an obsession for security, we are emerging markets, typical filipino have nothing to lose, (poor to middle class even rich individuals) I'll try to reply and explain on your argument

1.PRICE. it is entry level, meaning it is made for tight budgeted people, if you are referring for security, who are the target market of this kind of price? the middle class. do they really need secured os? No. they just want a smartphone with value for money meaning cheap but with good or great specs, e.g xiaomi mi3 ascend g6 and many more,

2, great tool for communication? isn't that what smartphone are for? and if you're referring that BB is made for working or businesses, then why many aren't using Blackberry? that means samsung and iphones are less realiable for workers or doing business? no, because if so, many will be using blackberry, right?

3, security. rich people or businessmen maybe paranoid about security but are they gonna buy z3? not all, others will buy samsung s5, or iphone. because they can afford a much expensive handsets, they won't looking at z3 spec wise, and build wise.

i'm not stereotyping, i'm just representing majority of people... and it is represented by the figures as Android dominates Ios in terms of sales. many are not rich, tech savvy, security obsessed, all they want is value for money, a phone that can browse the internet, play games, shoot great images, and many more with price that is right. :) sorry for the long reply! peace!

Should try both.. I tried Windows phone for like half an hour at a store.. didn't like it much, but you should try yourself..
Hey, everyone has their own opinion, don't let someone else decide for you.

I used android, windows, and Ios devises in the past. I made the switched to Blackberry Z10 recently and I am not looking back. The BB10 has fast browser, top notch email system, best virtual keyboard, and the most secured OS. The BBM video sharing and Time Swift Camera are just extra bonus for me. The price of Z10 and Z3 is almost the same but the former has more features i.e. 4G LTE, NFC and HDMI output. You can't go wrong picking the Z10 if decided to try the BB10.

The trolls are doubting the sales of a phone that has JUST touched down in the Philippines. Usual for you trolls. But here's the thing: you all doubted the sales of the Z3 when it launched first in Indonesia. Look what happened? It sold well! You doubted the sales when first touched down in India. It's selling well! Wahywahoo, ASSpiskula, PhoneArenaJerkOff, you all always doubt BlackBerry, and look what happens? You all have touted at one time or another that BlackBerry would be dead by now. You've been proved WRONG! The company is beginning to thrive again! Consumer interest is on the rise in BlackBerry! They rule the ENTERPRISE MARKET! And no matter how you haters try to spin it, it will remain so! You trolls and haters, keep on hating! I'll keep laughing at you as BlackBerry CLEARLY keeps proving you all WRONG.

I have nothing against Blackberry, man. The last thing you'll find me doing is trolling a Blackberry article. Seriously. I realize we all have different standards when it comes to everything, but I just don't see how you can call 30,000 units sold in two weeks in the world's second largest smartphone market "selling well".

I really don't care that much either way if Blackberry sticks around or not. If I had to lean one way, I suppose I would want them to stick around because the more companies out there innovating, the more everyone else is stepping their game up, but that is a very slight leaning at best. The point is, Blackberry will have to do a lot better than that if they want to be a competitor in the long-term market.

30,000 units in two weeks for a company that has switched gears back to the enterprise market is pretty decent, IMO. We also need to take into consideration the TOTAL number of handsets the Z3 has sold every where it's been launched. If they only need 10 million in handsets sales a year for Chen to keep the handset business going, and they already have 2.6million in the down, I would say things are progressing nicely. I look at it from that perspective. Not everyone can be Samsung and Apple. Ask HTC.

I also think that PA needs to post more articles on what other things BlackBerry is doing. Like with their Project Ion, with their QNX OS, with NantHealth and healthcare, etc. Regulated Industry is where the bulk of their handset sales will come from. Not the consumer market.

+1 to you, my friend. You're one of the more open minded posters here on PA.

+1 to you as well. I respect your admiration of Blackberry. Unlike these trolls out here, I understand that Blackberry could very easily survive the long-term with only a 5% market share (perhaps even less). However, it will take quite a bit of work for them to get back there. My advice? Stop wasting your time arguing with these fools. They aren't worth your time.

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